Reunion
by grilledjellyfish
Summary: After having landed on Shanks' ship, Nami tries to fit in... the rest of her crew on the other hand have problems to cope without Nami being with them anymore. Will there ever be a reunion?
1. Default Chapter

Author's notes: 

Writing this has definitely been some very good stress-relief!  
It's a idea that popped into my head, when my sis and I went for a walk with my sweet dog 'Kim'. This part is quite dramatic,  
but that'll lesson if you want another chap... )

Now I wish you all a merry christmas!!!!!!!

--------------------

"Help!! I can't hold the helm much longer!!"

Looking up from where she was currently helping Chopper to moor loose cargo that was rolling around on deck, smashing the railing and heads if one didn't pay attention, Nami turned to where Usopp was standing in the conference room, his grip on the wheel slowly loosening as the salt water and his sweat dripped down his hands and arms, making them slippery.

"Zoro!! Go help him!!" She yelled across the deck, hoping the swords fighter would hear her voice above the noises of the raging sea.

The Going Merry and its crew had found themselves in the middle of one hell of a hurricane.  
Even though Nami had felt the weather change and had given everybody orders that should have gotten them out of the storms range, they hadn't been able to esacpe.

The storm had been tossing the ship around for more than half an hour, and slowly fatigue and exhaustion threatened to overpower the friends. Their attempts to keep the ship from sinking seemed almost futile, considering the strength with which the hurricane was throwing the little ship around.

Huge waves crashed agaginst the Going Merry, shaking it violently. The storeroom was partially filled with water, making it difficult for Sanji to darn the huge holes in the wooden planks.

On deck, the situation wasn't much better.  
The water that kept on flooding across the railing sloshed around Nami's ankles, her shoes having long ago been discarded when she had very nearly slipped on the ice-like surface.

When she looked around again, she was glad to find Zoro and Usopp both holding tightly onto the wheel, their arms seemingly embracing it in a tight hug.  
Nami would have probably laughed if she hadn't known that they were actually holdig onto the helm for dear life, trying to steer to ship against the waves crushing the Going Merry from all sides.

"Miss navigator! The ropes holding the main sail tear!!"

Frowning, Nami had to blink away the salt water the wind had sprayed into her face. She tried to see the ropes somewhere above her, but the salt burned in her eyes, making her vision blurred.  
"Try and tie 'em together! Or we'll lose the sail!!" She yelled to where she supposed Robin to be. Nami knew Robin could work on the ropes and the sail without having to climb up the mast first. With her Devil Powers it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

"Chopper, you think you can manage alone for a second?" Nami asked the deer, bending closer to his ear.  
"Yes, I think so!" He yelled back, making a tight knot in a rope.

Nodding firmly, Nami made her way carefully across the slippery deck.  
Her inner voice screamed at her that something was wrong. But Nami couldn't put a finger on what exactly it was that had set her alarm bells off.

When she walked up the stairs to the bridge and headed towards the stern of the ship, the sickning feeling in her stomach seemed to intensify immediately.  
Something wasn't right... she just knew it...

Another wave crushed against the ship's side, smashing Nami into the side of the outter wall of the kitchen.  
For some seconds, all she could see were bright white spots, dancing around in front of her and making it difficult for the young woman to find her way on shaking legs to the stern.

When she had finally reached it, it almost seemed as if the hurricane had stopped for some moments... as if it waited for Nami to find out what had made her stomach revolt.  
Her eyes wandered aimlessly over the deck, the second mast and the tangerine trees on the upper deck until they focused on the railing.

"Luffy"  
It was merely a whisper, but as soon as the name had left her lips, the storm picked up again.

The aching ship moved suddenly to its right and Nami had a hard time maintaining her stance on the slippery planks. Her toes dug into the wood, but Nami didn't feel the pain in her feet. Her mind was occupied with finding help.

"Sanjiiii!!! Zorooo!!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, but her voice got swallowed by the raging sea.  
Eyes darting around the ship, her breath irregular, she tried to find something, 'anything' she could use.

But her brain had stopped functioning for some seconds.  
The picture of his hands gripping the railing so tightly that all the color had drained from his knuckles kept on flickering through her mind.

Luffy had gone overboard!  
Fortunately, his Devil Powers had saved him until now from drowning in the sea, his body still being attached to the railing thanks to his overstretched arms. But Nami couldn't 'see' Luffy's body! He had to be somewhere near the keel, probably already in the water!

She had to do something! Quickly!!

Staring at the railing again where Luffy's hands were supposed to be, she nearly dived into the raging sea without another thought. His fingers had finally slipped from the railing and Nami could have sworn, she had heard his arms snap back into place when her captain had finally fallen into the ocean.

Turning once around her own axis, Nami realized that there was no time to get one of the others. She had to this on her own, or Luffy was as good as dead. In her panic, she first didn't see the long rope lying around a pole.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she scolded herself for losing it. Nami had to stay focused in order to think and work properly!  
"Dammit!" She muttered under her breath, taking the rope and tying one end around her waist and flung the other end twice around the mast, before taking the end and wound it around her wrist, so that she had both ends somewhere at her body in reach.

She then ran over to the railing where Luffy's hands had been some seconds ago and leant across it, eyes searching frenetically for any sign of her captain.  
To her relief her eyes caught sight of his head emerging from the rough sea, before it again disappeared completely under water.

Without another thought, Nami climbed onto the railing, gripped the rope around her waist tightly and jumped right into the churning sea.

As soon as her body submerged, the unbearable cold water hit her like a punch.  
All the air got knocked out of her lungs at once and Nami struggled against the force of the sea to the surface, her chest burning from the strain and the desperate need to fill the lungs with much needed oxygen.

Finally she broke free from the wet clutches, inhaling as deep as she could.  
Her eyes had lost focus and all Nami could see were the blurred waves of ice cold water throwing her around, playing with her body as if she was some doll.

"Luffy!!" She yelled, but the noise of the hurricane was so loud, that she couldn't even hear her own voice.

Inhaling deeply again, Nami dived under a particularly huge wave.  
Otherwise it would have probably smashed her against the ship's heck, crushing her in the process.

Instead she used to pressure of the wave to dive deeper, her eyes wide and searching the dark sea for any signs of her friend.  
The salt burned in her eyes, but Nami ignored the pain and concentrated on anything that could have resembled Luffy.

'There!'

Her lungs started burning again, but Nami's eyes were fixated on something dull red, floating some meter underneath her in the distance. It didn't seem to be moving and Nami had to fight the urge to scream his name under water.

'Be alive, you idiot.''Be alive, you idiot'  
Nami kept on repeating the sentence over and over again in her mind, willing her hands to finally reach his body. Her arms already hurt from her fierce attempts to swim faster towards him and the red-head tried to channel all her energy reserves on the task of gaining speed.

She didn't dare think about the lack of air in her lungs or the rope around her waist that was probably too short for the remaining distance. Nami didn't think about the time that had passed since Luffy had first submerged or the ghostly white face that suddenly appeared right in front of her.

Her hand touched his arm and as soon as she felt the first slight, almost surreal contact of their skin, Nami pulled.  
With surprise she noticed how easy it was for her to drag his body along behind her as she tried to reach the surface as fast as possible.

After what seemed like hours to Nami, she suddenly broke free, emerging from the cold water.  
Her arms pulled hard and with a 'swosh' Luffy's head popped out of the water. It lolled from side to side, his eyes closed and his lips dark blue.

He wasn't breathing!

"Idiot!... Idiot!!" Nami yelled angrily, shaking him as best as she could.  
She couldn't give him mouth-to-mouth with the heavy swell, even though she tried hard.

His head threatened to submerge again.  
It almost seemed to Nami as if the sea demanded Luffy back. Something, like an invisible hand appeared to pull him under water again, sucking him into the ocean's dark depths without mercy.

Suddenly a sound like rattling of marbles in a jar caught her attention. Then a splutter and Nami found her eyes focused on Luffy's fluttering eyelids. He tried faintly to cough up the water in his lungs, drawing some shallow breaths.

For a second, relief and utter joy overwhelmed Nami's mind, but as soon as the water sucked again at Luffy's legs, she concentrated again on the task of getting him out of the raging sea.

Her arms grew rapidly tired from her fight against the element, Luffy's body being a dead weight that pulled her along into the abyss. Her eyes lost focus and the muscles in her legs burned from the strain. She had to do something... had to find something.  
Her foggy mind realized, that she still possessed the rope and with much effort, Nami managed to loosen the rope from around her wrist.

Inhaling, she submerged again, holding Luffy's head above the surface. At the same time she wound the loose end of the rope around Luffy's chest, making a tight knot, which hopefully wouldn't tear easily.

"Alright... just hold on..." She muttered under her breath as she re-emerged again.

Silently, Nami counted to three.  
Then she suddenly let go of Luffy and gripped the rope around her waist tightly. For a second, the rubber-boy disappeared under the surface of the raging water, but Nami didn't waste any time and started pulling at her end of the rope.

Almost immediately, Luffy got lifted out of the water, the hard waves sloshing around his waist and thighs when he go lifted into the air and out of the demanding ocean.  
'It works!' Nami thought, glad for small miracles.

Her plan was indeed working.  
The rope she had slung around the mast of the small sail, functioned as a block and tackle, her strength fortunately enough to make it work properly... until now anyway.

Breathing heavily, Nami pulled harder on the rope, the storm throwing her around with its huge waves like drift wood.  
But she never losened her grip on it. Her eyes stayed trained on Luffy's body, slowly being moved up to the railing.

He banged once against the heck and Nami feared he would get hurt, but it seemed that the small impact had woken him up from his unconsciousness. His eyes fluttered open and for a short moment, he appeared to be lucid. His gaze wandering bewildered down to where Nami was grinning faintly up at him.

Before he lost consciousness again, Nami could see a deep frown appearing on his forehead.  
When she looked up briefly, she couldn't tell whether it was already night or whether it were just the thick clouds that had captured all the sunlight and had caused the near darkness.

'Another meter', Nami thought, pulling with all what was left of her strength on the slippery rope.  
She watched, her eyes trained on Luffy, as he slowly got pulled across the railing of the ship's stern. She could imagine hearing the thud his body made when he fell ont the floor.

Inhaling deeply, Nami let go of the rope and started swimming against the current, heading towards the ship. She was already out of breath and her eyes lost focus every now and then. But she kept on swimming, fighting to make it back.  
Luffy needed help, God knows how much water he had swallowed while he had been submerged.

Looking up after a wave had washed over her, Nami saw a glimpse of somehing lying on top of the railing.  
Frowning she watched it for a second, when suddenly a strong wind caught the object and tossed it high into the air, carrying it along.

Brows ceased, the young woman was just about to re-assume her swimming when the wind let the object drop into the sea behind her.  
"Fuck!"

--

"It's my dearest possesion!"

"I got it from somebody, who's very important to me."

--

'His hat'  
Breathing rapidly, Nami looked across her shoulder where Luffy's straw hat was barely floating on top of the rough waves.  
She knew it wouldn't take much longer before it finally got swallowed by the raging sea.

Biting her lip, Nami looked back to where the ship was still fighting against the hurricane. Luffy was back in safety, still tied to the mast, which meant that he wasn't about to fall into the water again. He had opened his eyes earlier and Nami knew he'd be in one hell of a mood if he'd awaken and his hat was gone for good!

Biting her lip, she turned on the spot, heading to where she had last seen the hat.  
It almost seemed to her, that the sea had gone berserk. The waves grew by the second, giving Nami the impression that the ocean tried to get some kind of revenge on her, for having stolen Luffy from its death grip. It wanted her... or at least the hat and wasn't going to let both of them escape this time.

Coughing up some salt water, she doubled her efforts, her arms having gone numb by now from the cold sea and the exhausting swim. Nami looked up , but couldn't find the hat. It had drifted off!  
"No..."Splutter "Where is it?!"

Another wave threatened to pull her under, but Nami broke through the surface of the water with a splash. She was losing, Nami could tell. The hurricane wasn't going to clear any time soon and her energy reserves were almost used up.

In the corner of her eyes she saw a wave advancing towards her and Nami inhaled just in time to duck under it, before it had a chance of forcing her under. It seemed to her as if this dive lasted for minutes, the pressure of the wave having pushed her deeper under water than ever before and Nami really had to fight against losing orientation in the wet darkness.

Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of something yellow.  
The hat had submerged, too and was now on its way back to the surface, where it would get tossed back under again and again.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she made up her mind and started swimming, diving to where the hat was slowly moving upwards to the angry surface.  
She calculated that the hat was probably not more then five meter ahead and increased her speed, trying to close the gap between her and the object of her desire as fast as possible.

bang

The rope around her waist cut sharply into her cold skin, pulling her roughly back. She jerked backwards from the sudden pull and Nami felt a lung of precious air leave her mouth without her being able to pevent it from happening.  
'No!'

The rope was too short!  
She wouldn't make it! Nami wouldn't reach the hat!!

Eyes wide in fear and disbelief, Nami started fighting against the tight pull, her hands working frantically on the knot that kept the rope securely around her body.  
She struggled against it, eyes not able to see what her hands were doing in the darkness.

Suddenly the rope around her waist disappeared and Nami felt a sharp pain in her palms, where the rope had cut her skin when the moving ship had pulled it out of her grasp. Immediately she started swimming towards the straw hat again, her mind trying to ignore the burning sensation in her chest.

She reached out blindly, fingers clawing at the cold water, when they finally touched the rim of the hat.  
Eyes wide open, Nami grasped tightly onto the hat and pulled it towards her, her legs already moving upwards to the surface.

She broke free, lungs immediately demanding fresh air. She inhaled fiercly, her chest heaving heavily in an irregular pattern.  
'Gotcha!' She thought triumphantly and pressed the straw hat harder against her chest, when another huge wave headed towards her.

Her eyes wandered frantically across the raging sea surrounding her, looking for the ship.

But it was gone.  
Nami was alone!

Panic rose within her as she submerged more often.  
She could barely hold her chin above the sea, swallowing water with every new wave that crashed over her.  
Nami knew the ocean demanded her body, though she had never been superstitious. But right now, fear was the pre-dominating feeling occupying her mind.

She wasn't going to make it... she wasn't going to make it...

Again the water pulled her under and black spots danced across her vision.  
Her mind slowly blackened and while she clutched almost desperately onto the yellow, wet straw hat in her hands, one question haunted her brain: 'How are they gonna find the 'one Piece' without navigator?'.

----------

"Boy... gonna throw up!"

Prying his eyes open, Sanji looked over to where Usopp was lying belly-up on the deck, arms and legs spread out in cross-fashion.  
"Now that the storm's over? Bit late, don't ya think?" He asked incredulously.

"Hey, guys?... Anybody seen Luffy?" Zoro asked, his hands grasping the towel on his head and pulling it down, letting it drop right where he had just exited the conference room.

He was regarded by four blank faces.

They all jumped up as one (though Robin rather got up 'gracefully' and in no obvious hurry), each friend taking another part of the ship, their voices soon filling the air as they called for Luffy.

After some minutes, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper and Robin met again around the main mast in a circle, heads shaking 'no' as they stared at each other. Zoro had a huge frown plastered on his forehead as he watched his toes for a while, when his ears suddenly caught the sound of Sanji's boots running quite fast towards them...

"I couldn't find my precious Nami, but Luffy's at the stern!" He yelled, panting as he turned on his heels and ran back to where he had just come from.  
The other straw hat pirates were already behind him, following him close behind.

"Luffy!!" They yelled as one, when they saw their captain lying motionless on the floor.  
Robin noted that a large rope was tied around his waist. When her eyes followed it, she saw that it was slung around the mast and ran all the way back towards Luffy and even across the railing, dangling in the slight breeze.

While the others took care of Luffy, she made her way across the deck towards the railing, pulling the other end of the rope on board, where she examined it more closely.

"What's up with him, Chopper? Is he alright??" Usopp asked the little reindeer anxiously, eyes wide in fear as he watched the Doctor work on his patient.  
Zoro and Sanji were rubbing Luffy's legs with their shirts, trying to get the blood circulation in his limbs back into gear.  
They had taken on a dark blue color, nearly matching Luffy's purple lips... which were moving.

"He's gaining consciousness!" Chopper called excitedly, feeling for Luffy's pulse again.  
"Luffy!! Wake up!!"

"Wh-what... just happened?" Frowning, he rubber-boy brought his hand up to rub some sore spot on his temple, tousling his already messy hair even more.  
He didn't wait for an answer and just sat up, swaying slightly from side to side while funny white spots danced through the landscape...

"We're asking 'you', Luffy! What the heck are ya doing here, wet and knocked out cold??" Usopp demanded, slapping Luffy's back without thinking.

"Dunno... remember that there was a storm... where has it gone, by the way"  
Nobody thought it to be necessary to give him an answer and kept on staring at him until Luffy decided to continue.

"Oh, yeah! Nami kept on telling me to secure her trees"  
"Nami!!!! Where is she, dumb-head!!" Sanji suddenly exploded, taking Luffy by his shoulders and shaking him fiercly until Chopper and Usopp pulling his hands away from the poor boy.

"Nami?..." A frown appeared on his face as he looked around as if he had just noticed her absence. "I remember that she kept on telling me to... " He suddenly stopped, the color that had been left, draining completely from his face.

He jumped up, shaking off Chopper's little hooves and ran across the deck to where Robin was still standing, holding the rope still in her hands.  
Luffy grabbed the railing hard, fingers digging into the wood. He leaned dangerously far over the wooden construction, eyes wide as he stared into the calm, blue sea below him. In the corner of his eyes he saw the loose end of the rope dangling above the deck.

"Naaaaaamiiiiii!!!!"

----------

"Look... 've someth..." 'Go 'way', Nami thought angrily, grunting lightly as she tried to shut out the voices in her head.

"Bring her up"  
Another voice shouted from some distance and Nami wondered why she should bring someone up?

"Hey! I think she's waking up!!" A loud, dark voice seemed to explode just beside her ear and Nami cringed in discomfort, her eyes tightly shut. She tried to move her hands, intending to cover her ears, but it seemed her body was not responding to her brain's orders.

Suddenly two warm hands took hold of her, lifting her up from the solid floor and after some moments laid her back down on something warm... probably a woolen blanket, she thought in a haze when another one was draped across he body.  
It was then that she realized that her body felt as if she'd been lying in ice for hours.

Her fingers and limbs were almost numb (which had probably been the reason why she hadn't been able to move her arms...) and she could feel the first signs of warming up in her fingers and toes. They seemed to be burning slowly from the inside and Nami wondered whether she should tell Usopp to get them back onto something cold...

"Heya!! Wakey, wakey"  
Again the voice that had told her to get 'her' up... whoever 'her' was.

Nami tried to order her eyes to open, but her mind suddenly found something else very interesting.  
She held something in her fingers( which seemed to be swarming with uncountable ants). She tightened her grip around the thing in her hand and felt the texture of the subject.

'Luffy'

Her eyes shot open in an instant, but she couldn't see anything but indistinct figures moving like shadows around her. Nami's head started spinning nearly painfully as she clutched tightly onto the dripping wet straw hat in her hand as if her life depended on keeping it by her side.

"Hey! Take it easy, young lady"  
Brows ceasing in bewilderment, Nami looked up, eyes travelling up along a mast to a large crow's nest. Slowly she focused on something waving down at her in the strong wind...

A Jolly Roger... with three scars crossing the skull's left eye.

"I see, you're not somebody who likes to be given orders, huh?"

Still filled with panic when she realized where she had landed and that she was quite obviously not anymore on the Going Merry in safety with her guys, Nami turned towards the owner of the voice, looking right into the smirking face of a red-haired man, his eyes laughing down at her.

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FINIS!!

Who do you think is the 'mysterious' person at the end?? If ya don't have a clue, go and consult the first book of our fav manga and then read th last few lines again ;P Doesn't have to be necessarily the first and last part... I definitely have something in mind... what about you?? XD


	2. Chapter2

Author's notes:  
Alright folks. Sorry, but this chappy is a bit shorter. Hope ya like it though!  
Thanks go as always to my sister! One Piece forever!!! ;P 

Oh, and a happy new year for you all!!! Don't celebrate too much (Only after you r&r-ed)!! OO'

(-)(-) means flashback!!

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"WHAT?!!"

It took both Usopp and Chopper to keep Sanji from launching an attack on Luffy, who was standing ghostly white beside Robin at the railing, eyes staring into nothingness.

"She was in the water?" Robin repeated what Luffy had told them some seconds ago, looking down at the wet rope in her hand.  
"Yeah." Was all the rubber-boy replied, suddenly averting his eyes and instead concentrating on the rope still tied around his waist, digging into his slightly raw skin.

"You probably fell into the sea and Nami thought it to be necessary to jump right after ya." Zoro vocalized his thoughts and was regarded with an ominous silence. Even Sanji had stopped struggling against his two comrades when the words sunk in.

Chopper unhooked his hooves from around the cook's legs and made his way across the still slippery deck towards his captain.  
Luffy hadn't moved an inch, his arms crossed in front of his chest and eyes casted downwards, unable to focus on his friend advancing towards him.

"Nami is alright... right, Luffy?" The little deer asked, starting to open the tightly knotted rope until it fell off and landed around Luffy's sandals.

"'Course she is." Usopp answered instead of Luffy, forcing a false smile onto his lips to assure Chopper.  
"She has surely found something to use as a boat and is already on her way back to us!"

Chopper nodded absently, eyes roaming over the wide, blue ocean surrounding the ship. He seemed to expect Nami to come swimming towards them from the distance, but she never came... The only thing his eyes could see was water and some seagulls flying around the ship's mast.

"You're probably hungry." Sanji suddenly exclaimed, gaining everybody's attention. He had just lit a new cigarette and had jammed his tightly clenched fists deep into his wet trouser pockets.  
"I'll go and make supper."

Without another word, the cook turned, his eyes casted downwards. Nobody ever saw the way his jaws clenched and how his brows ceased both in anger and deep concern. Sanji just disappeared, leaving behind the rest of the crew.

After a while, Usopp turned back to Luffy, mustering him for a few seconds before making his way towards him.  
"Hey, Luffy! Where the hell's your hat!"

Sighing, Luffy looked up from his sandals. Chopper noticed the sadness in his eyes and felt his stomach tighten. What if they were all lying? What if Nami wasn't alright? She could be dead! There was no way of telling whether she had found something to hold onto, or whether some creature had decided that Nami would be a good dinner!

Luffy's eyes fell on the calm sea.  
"Gone."

----------

(-)(-)

'Dammit!'

Anger mixed with defeat when the young girl watched small drops of blood seeping out of a cut on her right thumb. She put the finger into her mouth, tasting a faint trace of iron. She knew the flavour quite well, having had enough split lips and bleeding noses in her lifetime already.

Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she let her hands rest on her thighs. She tried to shut out the loud voice in her head, yelling at her to get back into gear before somebody caught her. But the girl with the dark orange hair knew from experience that lock-picking wasn't easy, especially when one was nervous or at edge and the damn lock was one hell of a challenge.

Lock-picking. Something she too had done way too often in her life already... a fact she was not proud of.

Concentrating on the even breathing of the man sleeping behind her in his bed and on the slight pain in her knees, on which she had been kneeling for almost fifteen minutes now, the girl's breathing slowly got back to normal. Absently she swept a calming hand across her features, wiping away some of the sweat on her forehead.

'Alright, Nami. You can do this!' She gave herself mentally a pep talk and opened her eyes, focusing on the lock with the metal instruments sticking out of it. Carefully she took them again and started working on the padlock. She tried to breathe as quiet as possible, not intending to miss the sound of the opening lock.

click

Smiling in relief, she stuffed the instruments back into her backpack and opened the large lid of the treasure box slowly.  
Nami didn't want to waken the captain of this pirate ship with the noise of the gems and coins chinking.

Glancing back across her shoulder, she made sure that the man with the three scars across his left eye was still asleep, before turning back to the task of filling the large sack with as much of the treasure as possible. Nami hoped the stuff she was currently carrying out of the box and into the bag would be worth at least two million Belly.

Frowning, she started to wonder where that guy had gotten the scars from.  
Probably an angry mother, trying to defend her small children from the malicious pirate... If yes, it served him right! They should have chopped off his damn head!

"Who the heck are 'you'?!"

Taken totally by surprise, Nami spinned around, both hands holding diamonds and bracelets in a tight grasp. Her eyes focused on the man standing in front of her, one hand resting casually on his hip as he stared down at her. Nami guessed she must have looked like a kid caught with the hand in the cookie jar and she felt like one.

"Hey! That's mine!! Hands off!" He suddenly yelled, eyes wide when he realized what Nami was currently filling her sack with.  
Nami couldn't answer.  
She was too absorbed in what she was seeing, her eyes fixated on the left shoulder of the pirate where his arm was supposed to be. But all she could see in the dim light was a gross scar that looked like he had lost his limb in a grinder. She just couldn't take her eyes off of the stump.

"You listening??" The pirate slowly got angry and grabbed Nami by her left forearm, pulling her up into a standing position.  
"Hey! Don't touch me!!" She hissed back angrily, finally averting her eyes from his bare shoulder and stared right into his surprised face.

"What the hell do ya think you're doin' here, young lady"  
Nami pulled herself free out of his not so gentle grasp and stepped back some feet, squaring her shoulders when her legs bumped against the treasure box behind her.

"I'm a thief, specialized on pirates!!" She retorted, eyes narrowed to a thin line as she glared at her opponent.

"A thief?" He asked incredulously, frowning as he mustered her. "You can't be older than 'thirteen'! Ya shouldn't be running around alone telling pirates that crap, let alone doing that at night on a pirate ship 'full' of bad guys!!" The man with the striking red hair told her, his voice rising at the end a few notches.

Nami gave herself unimpressed.

"Ya shouldn't even know what a thief 'is', dammit!" The man without the left arm made a step towards her, reaching out with his right hand to take hold of her again. But Nami, being smaller and much more agile, just dodged his hand and took the with treasures filled sack in one fluid movement.

"Ya better leave that stuff right here. ... Believe me, when I tell you that pirates don't like to be robbed. That's against the laws of nature!!" He told her seriously, following her as she carefully stepped around him, slowly advancing to the open door where she would try and run back to the little boat she had come here with... and pray.

Suddenly the pirate captain dashed forward, intending to grab the large bag in her hands.  
He really didn't want to keep her here and pursue the matter any further. He was just sad that such a young girl had already lost her childlike innocence.

'No!' Nami thought as she saw that the man was trying to take away 'her' treasure! The treasure she 'needed' desperately!

Letting go of the bag she hastely felt for the three wooden parts of her bo. Within a fraction of a second, the three pieces were put together and Nami positioned herself between the sack and the pirate, waving the bo threateningly at him.

She had to admit that she wasn't really good with that thing, yet. But she was practicing really hard whenever she had time.

About one year ago, Nami had decided that she needed a weapon to defeand herself with, both against the pirates she was robbing 'and' the Arlong gang. She had to establish herself in the rough hierarchy, gaining some respect. Otherwise she would be lost.  
among those fish-heads.

"Hey, hey! Easy... you could hurt yourself with that thing, kid." The red haired man told her mockingly, a mischievous grin covering his lips.

Exhaling sharply, Nami focused hard on her target, his stomache, and darted forward.  
But the pirate wasn't easily tricked and caught the one end of the bo aimed at his belly with his still present hand.

His grin broadened.

Unfortunately he had forgotten that the staff had 'two' ends and was not prepared for the second one to come crushing down on his forehead.

Nami watched with brows ceased in concentration as the pirate captain stared at her, his body starting to sway slightly.  
An angry red line indicated her were exactly she had hit him and slowly a small laceration above his right eyebrow started to bleed, the liquid dropping down his eye and onto his chest and the floor.

Then he fell.  
Biting her lip, Nami waited for his body to hit the ground.

thump

Eyes closed, the man lay on his back, his only arm spread out just like his legs. He was breathing normally and gave the impression that he had just fallen out of his bed and had re-assumed sleeping on the wooden floor.

Nami stuffed her staff into the backpack, closed the open lid of the half empty treasure box and tied up the large, heavy bag with a small rope. With much effort, she pulled the sack over her shoulder and made her way back towards the door, where she made sure that no one was waiting outside.

Before she disappeared out of the room and soon from the ship, she turned back towards the unconscious man and hoped she would never see him again.

(-)(-)

----------

sigh

Nami watched as the man in front of her gingerly touched a little scar just above his right eyebrow, a deep frown appearing suddenly on his face as he regarded her with a long, hard, scrutinizing look.

"Do I know ya?" He asked suddenly.  
"Nope..." Nami feigned innocence. "But I read about you on the wanted list. You're the 'Red Shanks', right?"

"Yeah, that's him!" Somebody exclaimed from somewhere to her left, but Nami didn't pay any attention to anybody but the one-armed man in front of her. Something about his look made her want to gulp down a lump in her dry throat.

"Oh, alright!" Shanks smiled almost happily. "And what's your name"  
"I don't suppose that's any of your business... and you also don't have to know where I'm from, what my hobbies are or what I've been doing alone in the water." She clarified and started a staring contest with the captain of this pirate gang.

"And what about your bra size?" One of the man gathered around her yelled cheekily.

Eyes narrowed, she slowly turned, arms crossed over her chest as she directed one of her death-glares at the group of boyishly grinning man behind her. "Ask again and I'll show ya the size of my 'fist'... if you're still alive afterwards, you deserve to know it."

Her angry eyes challenged the jerk to open his mouth again, but the guy apparently didn't have the guts to try his luck again and just shut up, hiding behind one of his comrades who was just as intimidated and scared as himself.

Nami then turned back towards the captain and waited for his laughing-fit to subside enough for him to be able to breathe again.  
"Hahahaha... ya're good!" He told her, shaking his head.

Nami didn't answer and just stared at him, arms akimbo.  
She was still holding tightly onto the straw hat in her hand, rubbing the wet material between her thumb and index finger.  
The feeling of the rough fibers had a somehow calming effect on her. It made her feel much less vulnerable, knowing that she still had something of her crew with her.

"Guys, go and prepare a quarter for our guest... she needs something to change into and food." Shanks suddenly ordered and soon some of his man ran into the ship to do as they were told to.  
"The rest gets back to work! We're in the middle of the Grand Line, dammit!!"

After a while, Nami and Shanks were alone, standing face to face in the center of the large deck.  
Slowly he made his way towards her, a cheeky grin still covering the better part of his face.

"I got a question"  
"Try me."

"Where did ya get that hat from?"

If Nami was surprised she didn't show any sign.  
Her face was a carefully set neutral mask. Only for a fraction of a second allowed she her eyes to look horrified.

'What if he knows Luffy? He's probably another damn arch enemy on that rubber-idiot's long list of foes!' She thought angrily,  
grasping the straw hat tighter in her clenched fist.

"Why do you wanna know this?" She asked nonchalantly.  
"Well, I have the feeling it doesn't belong ya... maybe you thieved it?" He asked casually, scratching his forehead and the spot where the small scar was.

'Oh. boy'  
Nami knew that he knew her and that he knew that she knew him.

"No, why would I? I'm no thief." 'Well, at least not primarily anymore', Nami added in her mind.  
"It belongs a very good friend and I'm gonna give it back to him when I meet him again!"

'If', Nmi thought. 'What if I never find them again? What if Luffy fell back into the water and drowned? What if they sink in the next storm or get lost completely? I still have the Lock Pose'  
Shaking her head slightly, she tried to banish the thoughts and concentrated again on the straw hat she pressed tightly against her thigh.

She was a damn straw hat pirate and damn proud of it! She wasn't supposed to think such crap!! What would the others, what would Luffy think of her?!

"A very good friend?" Shanks repeated, mustering her closely from head to toe.  
"Yeah... you probably know him. He's quite famous." Nami told him, lifting her chin higher. She 'was' a straw hat pirate!  
No need to hide her identity! Luffy had showed her that there was no need to be afraid with such great, loyal friends on her side.

No.  
Nami wasn't going to deny herself!

So what if he was going to throw her back into the water?! What if he was gonna make her walk over the planks, huh!  
She was a pirate and damn happy!! She had played damsel in distress long enough! Now she had the chance to tell the world who she was... finally Nami had an identity 'she' had chosen!

"His name is Monkey D. Luffy. He'll be the next pirate king!"

--------------------

FINIS!!

Uaaaaaahhh!!!!! Why the heck did she do that?? What will Shanks do now??? Argh!  
So what do you think'll happen next? Ideas? Criticism? Stones and/or spears? Gimme some reviews!! XD Sorry that this chappy is not longer, but I didn't want to give away 'everything' just yet :)


	3. Reunion3

Author's notes:  
Wrote this in record time, but havn't found the time until now to submit it... SORRY!!!!! starts crying Plase forgive me!  
I'll try and do the next one faster, but exam-time has started sigh and there are tons of stuff waiting for me to get learned, so please bear with me!  
Hope ya like it and find something worth to write a review about... the wish for another chappy is hopefully among the 'something-worth'-part!! XP 

--------------------

"Monkey D. Luffy?"

Nodding, Nami folded her arms across her chest, pursing her lips as she waited for Shanks to continue.  
But he didn't. He merely scratched his head and frowned down at the straw hat that slowly dried in the warm sun. Nami was still holding tightly onto it, her knuckles having turned white a long time ago.

'Like a lifeline', Shanks thought, averting his gaze to look in the orange haired woman's dark eyes.  
It seemed she waited for something 'big' to happen and was already prepared for it( whatever 'it' was) judging by the determination in her eyes.

'Probably thinking I'm gonna throw her bak into the sea',Shanks thought, chuckling slightly.

"Heard of him. ... Funny guy, right? Didn't he beat the crap outta that Croc-idiot"  
"Yep, that's him." Nami replied nonchalantly, never showing any sign of proudness. She was still wearing a mask, trying to conceal any emotion.

She had already had enough experience with all kinds of pirates, knowing damn well that displaying feelings meant giving away ones weaknesses or 'soft spots', as she liked to call it.

"And that hat is his""I guess that means 'yes'."

Obviously uncomfortable or totally nerve-wracked by Shanks interrogation (if one wanted to call this game so), Nami shifted from one foot onto the other, setting her jaw when she got painfully reminded of her earlier encounter with a hurricane.  
She was raw to the bones, every little muscle in her body screaming bloody murder whenever Nami dared to move an inch.

A deep sigh escaped her lips, her features relaxing slowly when she found a more or less comfortable position.

"Maybe ya should hit the hay and get some sleep. Don't want the only woman on board to run around here, looking like a damn zombie." He smirked when Nami directed a weak glare at him. "I mean, my men would probably kill me."

"Alright. ... But don't even dare and think I'm gonna sleep in some dirty quarter with even one of those guys!" She declared, challenging Shanks to contradict.  
"No, no! Don't worry, your own room is already prepared."

He stepped aside and pointed with his right hand towards a slightly open door, leading inside the large ship. Shanks bowed gentlemanlike and waited for Nami to walk past him.  
"Oh, there's something you should better know, 'young lady'." He emphasizing the last part slightly.

Nami glanced across her shoulder, a slight shiver running down her spine when she remembered his words from their first encounter. A cheeky grin was covering the captain's lips.  
"Maybe you've heard of this rule before... pirates don't like to be robbed. It's against the laws of nature."

----------

Her head had merely touched the cushion and Nami had already been asleep.

Now, almost six hours later, she slowly opened her eyes, finding the small room with only one bed and one cupboard bathed in nightly darkness. She guessed that it was probably around midnight, so no need to get up just yet.

She didn't know why she had woken up in the first place anyway and snuggled deeper into the covers, drawing her legs up so that she was lying in a small ball in the warm bed. Her toes were still cold, but apart from some bruises and three or four lightly stinging lacerations on her back and legs did nothing indicate that she had been fighting for her and Luffy's lives half a day ago.

Only now did Nami realize how lucky she had been, having landed on a ship (even though one of pirates) and having been given refuge for at least another day.  
And Shanks had guaranteed her that she would be tolerated on his ship for the time they would need to reach the next island their Lockpose was aligned to.

'Lockpose'... she still had the one of her gang.

Which meant that the Going Merry was currently navigator-less, Lockpose-less and without any form of orientation or even a vague guess where to go now. Hopefully the guys would at least keep a clear head... she had told them millions of times what to make out of what type of cloud or what could happen when the wind changed suddenly directions or picked up.

'At least once', Nami hoped silently, 'show that you're all mature and not some brainless apes.'

----------

"Usopp?"

At hearing his name being called, the sharpshooter turned around to the voice with the whining tone in it.  
"What is it, Chopper"  
"I'm hungry... but Sanji wouldn't come down and he has forbidden us to touch the kitchen stuff."

Sighing, Usopp looked up towards the crow's nest, trying to glimpse a sign of their cook. The blond man had been sitting up there for almost two days now, his eyes constantly roaming over the wide ocean, hands gripping tightly onto the binoculars.

Sanji was looking for Nami.  
He was waiting for her beautiful orange hair to suddenly appear right in front of the bow of the ship, smiling up at him and telling him not to worry anymore.

She hadn't showed any sign of her yet.  
But the cook wasn't willing to give up on her either and refused to come down even when he was thirsty or hungry.

"I'll fix some toasts... did you know that I've been the one who invented the sandwich-cheese?" Usopp asked the little reindeer.  
Chopper lifted his head and stared wide-eyed at his friend, jaw agape. "No! That was 'you'?"

"Yes!" And with that the long-nosed liar launched into a long, hair-rising tail of how he stole the cheese from some super-  
monster.

On their way to the kitchen they walked past Zoro.  
The green-haired man was sitting quite uncomfortably on the roof where the tangerine trees moved slightly in the breeze that filled the large sails of the Going Merry.

He stared straight ahead, his swords resting on his crossed legs.  
Sighing, Zoro averted his gaze for a second, checking on Sanji and Robin before re-assuming his task of keeping watch over their captain.

Just like Sanji, Luffy hadn't moved much within the last thirty-four hours.  
Right after having changed into dry clothes and after he had shaken off Chopper's busily working hooves, he had plunked down on the lamb's head and had started to stare ahead.

Constantly, Chopper or Usopp, who were pretty much the only beings on board who tried to keep the ship going and everyone healthy, brought Luffy, Sanji and Zoro something to drink or eat. And though Zoro would never admit it, Sanji's food was much much better than anything he was forced to eat right now. Even the scrambled eggs Usopp had made this morning had tasted like they had been digested before.

Blinking once, the swords-fighter shifted slightly, trying to work out the strain in his shoulder muscles.  
To no avail.

He would need a good nap and some working out to get the knots out of them.  
"Whatever..." He mumbled when his eyes caught the slight movement of his captain.

Luffy had crossed his arms over his chest, but otherwise he showed no sign of intending to stop his sitting. He was still glue to the spot, giving no indication of exhaustion.  
The slight breeze ruffled his raven hair, a sight none of his teammates had ever seen before on him... well, at least not for almost two full days!

With his yellow straw hat gone, he didn't look like himself.  
It almsot seemed to them as if all his happiness and carefreeness had vanished with the hat and Nami without a sign in the dark depths of the ocean.

Again, Zoro blinked and listened for a second to the conversation of Chopper and Usopp in the room underneath him.

"It's not the same..." Chopper mumbled, toying with a spoon and a fork.  
"I know. I would have never believed it, but without Nami I don't think we can achieve anything."

Grunting under his breath, Zoro blocked out the voices of his friends.  
He 'knew' they were right.

Nami had been the only one of them who had had an idea of navigation. She had been the only one among the crew who had been able to interpret sudden weather changes or what it meant when the current got faster or slower. She had been the only one who could say when and how a storm would appear and what they all had to do to escape unharmed.

She had also been one, who always knew how to put an unnecessary fight to an end... even if that meant giving him or Sanji a real good beating. Nami had always helped to keep them all going and together and she would have also been the one who would tell them what to do right now.

Now, the person they had to rely on was Robin. A fact Zoro wasn't particularly happy about. He still wasn't sure what to think of that woman and the omnipresent silence that surrounded her.

Zoro turned his head slightly to his left, making sure Nico Robin was still sitting in her folding chair with that large book in her hands. How somebody could get so absorbed into reading millions of sides, filled with boring stuff, the swords fighter couldn't and didn't want to understand.

"Lunch!!" Usopp suddenly yelled, pushing the door open and emerging with a large plate balanced on one hand. Chopper was hot on his heels, never losing sight of the nearly black toasts. At the sight of another messed up lunch, Zoro wrinkled his nose in disgust, sighing exaggeratedly when he felt his stomach grumble despite the knowledge of the food's condition.

"Well... what the hell." He told himself and unfolded his crossed legs, jumping down from the roof and landing silently on the bridge.

----------

In.... out... in... out...

Listening to her breath, Nami tried hard to suppress the voice in the back of her head, telling her to get moving.  
She wasn't sure why, but something inside her didn't feel right... tough it was a quite familiar feeling of uneasiness.

Slowly she got up from the chair and walked across the room to the tiny bull's eye in the wall nearest to the bed.  
Frowning, she looked out of the window, surveying the calm blue ocean that sloshed around the ship. Some seagulls flew away from the ship, disappearing in the with small clouds covered sky.

Something wasn't right... Whenever the hair at the back of her neck stood at end, Nami was sure tht something big was coming up.

'Hopefully not another storm.' she thought anxiously, massaging her temples.  
'Gonna make sure that wannabe-navigator of that ship knows about the weather changes.'

With that she started to make her way to the upper deck, eyes searching for any sign of the captain.  
As Nami walked through the long corridor her eyes fell on a door that was slightly ajar.

Known among her friends to be quite curious when it came to the belongings of other people, the young woman pushed the door further open and peeked around the corner to make sure no-one was iside who could jeopardize her nosing around.  
To her luck she was alone and so she opened the door fully, stepping into the room and coming to halt beside a large bed.

The quarter also contained two large cupboards, a desk, which was covered in maps and empty bottles, and a large box.

'Aha!', Nami thought and a mischievous smirk appeared on her lips when she slowly made her way towards the box.  
She already knew what was hidding within it, the first exciting feeling of anticipation building up within her stomach.

Suddenly she heard voices coming from the corridor.  
They were still distant and so she hastely retreated out of the room, leaving the door just as she had found it.

Two pirates walked past her, giving her a once-over. Name ignored them pointedly and didn't give the laughter that irrupted behind her another thought. Idiots were idiots. No matter where she was.

Which brought her back to 'her' idiots,  
'Hopefully they'll find an island... they need a Lockpose or Luffy can forget to find the One Piece.' Nami thought bitterly.  
She had finally reached the upper deck and stepped out into the bright sunlight. The men of the pirate gang were busily scrubbing the deck or patching up holes in the sales and nets they used for fishing.

Her eyes surveyed the work for a few seconds before they settled on two laughing men standing at the tiller. Sighing she walked over to them, climbing up a small ladder to the bridge of the large ship.

"Hey!" Nami called out, having nearly reached them. The two men turned at once, a smile immediately breaking out on Shanks'  
face when he saw her standing, on hand on her hip, right behind him. "Slept well? How was lunch?"

Frowning, Nami thought back to the guy who had accompanied her on her way to her quarters. He had carried a plate with bread and cheese and something to drink, but Nami had been to exhausted to even think about eating and had left the food behind untouched.  
She felt almost sorry... such a nice gesture.

"Great." She lied, crossing her arms over her chest. Nami gave him her best encouraging smile, hoping he would believe her.  
"Good... you need anything or why are ya here?" His eyes wandered down her body to where she had tied the straw hat with a thin cord around her waist. It hung low in her back but was safe from getting blown away or robbed... none of his men would dare and touch that specific part of her torso...

Shanks noticed the many small patched up places where something had sliced the hat open, leaving behind marks much like scars.  
It seemed the non-swimmer had had a lot of fun... or had survived a lot of dangerous adventures, knowing that 'fun' in Luffy's opinion wasn't always fun in the common sense of the word.

Nami's brows ceased as she averted her gaze from him and looked up into the with white clouds dotted sky. Her eyes wandered across the horizon until she found a dark spot seemingly kilometers away from the ship.  
She knew it wouldn't take much longer until the storm front would catch up with them and because her life depended on it,  
she sighed and stared at the expecting face of the Red Shanks.

"You his navigator?" Nami asked the second man beside Shanks.  
He nodded in return, giving her a quizzical look.

"Where did ya learn your job? Or did you already notice the crappy storm that comes our way"  
The frown on the men's faces deepened and they both turned in unison into the direction where Nami was pointing at.

"Uh oh... "  
"Could say that." Nami said, smiling slyly. She listened as Shanks started giving orders and watched the pirates running around on the ship, doing what they could do to get the ship out of the storm's range. "Well done. Your captain hopefully knows what a fine navigator he got there." Shanks told her across his shoulder, his hands holding tightly onto the tiller.

A deep sigh escaped Nami's lips and her eyes wandered down to her bare feet. 'Had...'

----------

"NO!!"

"But"  
"I said 'NO'!!"

Inhaling deeply, Robin leaned back against the main mast, crossing here legs as she stood across from Luffy. The other members of the straw hat crew were standing lined up around her in some sort of messed up semi-circle. Even Sanji had decided to get down from the crow's nest, staring at his black boots as he listened silently to the conversation between his captain and the female archaeologist.

"Captain, we 'need' a new navigator. Even if you say that 'I' should take over the job for some time. I'm no substitute for someone like Nami and can't possibly do it without a Lockpose!" The raven-haired woman told Luffy solemnly, her voice never rising even when Luffy contradicted quite vehemently and without any convincing arguments against her suggestion.

Which basically was the plan that they should get to the next island and find a new navigator.

"He is right." Zoro suddenly declared. "Even though Nami and I had our disagreements, I don't think anybody else could take over 'her' job and fit into this crew like she did. And I guess that shit-head is on my side on this one." Zoro pointed to the blond cook, who had just lit a cigarette.

Sanji had kept silent until now, having not intended to interrupt a lady so rudely. But now that he had the chance to voice his displeasure regarding Robin's idea, though he wasn't normally a man who would say anything against a woman, he would take it and protest.

"Nami is still out there! I won't allow anyone of you to say otherwise! I know we will find her and until then I'm on Luffy's side... No other navigator. I'd feel it if she was dead!"

"But we can't move on without at least a Lockose! This is the Grande Line and not the East, West, North or South Blue! Without a way of orientation, we are doomed." The woman told them again. She pushed herself away from the mast and stared at Luffy and the others expectantly.

"Then we better find an island. We need a new Lockpose until Nami returns with the old one!" Luffy told her and with that he turned around, making his way back towards the Lamb's head. He jumped onto it and eyed his crew across his shoulder.  
"Sanji is right. It doesn't feel like she's dead. ..." He paused, a deep frown on his face as he obviously thought about something.

"She's after all a straw hat pirate!"

----------

"Here."

Startled, Nami looked up from her wrist and stared into the bright eyes of Shanks.  
He was nodding with his chin at something in his hands, encouraging Nami to take the bundle.

"What's this?" She asked, opening the small package carefully... she had always been mindful when it came to unforeseen presents (apart from Sanji's), not intending to end blown up.  
"Nicked it from the kitchen." Shanks told her, sitting down beside her on the large hatch.

Nami had been sitting there for hours, watching as the sun slowly disappeared behind the blue horizon. The last red-orange rays of light warmed her face and bare feet and allowed her to relax slightly, letting down her guard for a while. Nami was still quite tired and the always present fear that somebody she didn't know would come up behind her and try to kill her had made her edgy all day long.

"Chocolate?" She stared at the brown stuff in the handkerchief with a mixture of disbelief and joy.  
'Chocolate!' Exactly what she needed right now! Sugar to load her energy reserves. Who knew when she would need them again?!

"Eat it... take it as a queer way of saying thank you. You probably safed our asses back there with your forecast. Are ya the beautiful version of a weather frog?" He asked her, leaning back on his hand as he stared up into the dimly lit sky.  
He heard her chuckle shortly under her breath and when Shanks turned his head around slightly, he saw her chew on a small piece of chocolate.

"I guess we should reach the next island within the next thirty hours... maybe less. Then you'll be able to get your search-mission started and finally find that crew of yours!" Shanks told her with a wide grin.  
Nami merely nodded, staring down at the Lockpose around her wrist. The little black arrow pointed into the opposite direction from where Shanks' ship was currently heading into... at an island the straw hat pirates had been supposed to take a good look at and have a new fantastic (but probably too dangerous for such a lovely lady) adventure.

"I got another question there." He suddenly blurted out, sitting up straight as he watched her caught up in her depressing thoughts.  
"Can't promise an answer."

"Thought so... Could you tell me something about your captain? What has he done since he's on sea"  
"Quite a lot you wanna know there, huh?!... "Nami eyed him, her teeth gnawing on the inside of her cheek a she thought about her reply.

She couldn't be sure about his intentions.  
He may be playing 'Mr. Nice Guy' and in reality he planned a big huge honkin' attack against her men!

Nami didn't know everything about Luffy. Only God knew what kind of crap he had been in before he had met her and Zoro. And to be honest, she wasn't intending to get pulled into any of the old damn stories. Luffy was a big boy who could handle his enemies, old or new ones, quite well.  
But she also didn't want to get him deeper into any shit!

On the other hand, Shanks really seemed to be one of the 'nicer' pirates and normally Nami could trust her female intuition.

"Why? He one of your sandbox buddies? Or just another arch-enemy on your list"  
"None of it... call it just a personal interest."

"Well, don't think I'll tell ya anything big! Just some basics and I'm good at keeping it at a minimum of information!" Nami told him seriously, regarding him with a long, hard look that normally made even Zoro climb down.  
"Just the basics." He nodded in comfirmation and waited.

"He's quite some pirate. A bounty of one hundred million Belly should say it all. He's beaten the crap outta some of the worst guys on the sea, including Don Creek, Arlong and Sir Crocodile. He's one hell of a good captain and everybody who dares and says otherwise will get one hell of a headache... I personally see to this! And I'm two hundred percent sure, and that's not normal for me, that he'll find the One Piece and become the next pirate king! That's for sure!!" Nami finished with a dark look.

"Oh... ya don't wanna tell me more?" Shanks got his answer in form of a very, very dark glare, which made him swallow the next comment immediately.  
He was just a bit disappointed, because he already knew most of what Nami had just told him and he had actually hoped to get to know more about the little former tomboy and what he had changed into over the years.

Well, if his navigator was sure that he'll become the next pirate king, maybe he would meet him then quite soon.  
Luffy still had something he had promised to give Shanks back.

--------------------

FINIS!!

There's the third part!! Liked it??? This story isn't over yet, so tell my muse to keep on having ideas for another chap.  
pleaseeeee!! She doesn't listen to me anymore TT'


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes:  
Alright, so this took (literally) months to get down on my labtop. I know you probably hear that every one point five fics, but I had way too much stuff to do for my liking. But thanks to the time you allowed me to take, I've passed all of my exams... and am already happily (huh?) preparing for the next dozen. Whatever!  
Go and read and have lots of fun!  
Thanks go to my lil sis (Nooooo! He's not dead! .), Shan (deep down inside you love adventures, too... and looooove ;P) and Katrin (Maybe ya shoud read more un-loooove-like stuff OO.  
Bye 

--------------------

"30 hours? My ass"  
Rolling her eyes in irritation, Nami stared out of the small bull's eye of her room, watching the last rays of the fading sunlight illuminating the calm ocean.

Turning away, she got up from the small stool and walked over to the sorry excuse of a bed. She considered lying down for a few seconds, before she decided that it was too early and still too bright to sleep just now. Maybe Nami could wander around on deck for another hour.

The red-head still wanted to check out the whole ship before she would make her move.  
She had learned a long time ago that acting headless could get her in some deep shit. And she didn't believe that she could dick herself out that easily without any help... which was probably miles and miles away...

Exhaling slowly, she thought back to the conversation she had had nearly two days ago, recalling Shanks' promise that they should reach the next island within 30 hours... '30 hours' having already turned into 35! To say that Nami was pissed off was the understatement of the day!

Again she rolled her eyes and walked across the room to the door. Slowly she pushed down the handle and opened the door a bit.  
Carefully she peeked aound the frame, making sure nobody of the crew was outside playing snooper.

"A ship full of idiots..." Nami mumbled before walking swiftly out of her cabin and closed the door silently behind her.

She wouldn't need long.  
Nami just waned to make sure things were where she needed them... because when the time had come, she needed everything to work out according to her plan...

----------

"Pretty cold tonight, huh?"

Frowning, Sanji looked down from where he was sitting on the edge of the crow's nest, finding Zoro leaning casually against the main mast.  
"'s been colder." He answered, averting his eyes from his annoying comrade. His gaze wandered aimlessly across the dark sea surrounding the small ship as he listened to some rough waves sloshing around the bow of the ship.

Sanji could have sworn that he had heard an "Idiot..." directed up at him, but he refused to give that shit-head of a swords fighter the satisfaction of a reaction... mainly because he was too tired to get pulled into any straining fights. Plus there was no time to beat the crap out of the bastard as long as he needed to look out for a sign of his precious Nami.

"Ya gonna come down any time soon, or are you just gonna grow onto that cozy lil place up there"  
"Why don't ya just shut the hell up and mind your own unimportant business?"

With a smirk, Zoro noted that the irritation in the cook's voice had grown a few notches.  
Grinning smugly, he folded his arms across his chest and stared up at the row's nest.

"Ya know, she's probably sleeping in some fine white bed and is ordering some poor guys around... wouldn't be surprised if she had already found another victim who's gonna pay back ridiculous debts for the rest of his life."

Despite his best intentions, Sanji had to chuckle at the thought of Nami sitting on a throne, ordering around an army of guys... that would be just her.

"Why are ya here anyway?" He suddenly called down from the nest, his fingers fishing for a new cigarette in his breast pocket.  
To his disappointment he didn't find any and settled on tapping his boot against the wooden floor, trying to ease some of the apprehension that was formig in his guts.

"No reason... just wanted to see whether it's already dawn"  
Frowning, Sanji shook his head. That was a way too stupid and sorry excuse of a reason even for that idiot.

Apparently Zoro too had realized that and with a sigh he continued, "Robin said that there should be an island somewhere around here and I wanted to see whether we've already reached it"  
"Ya lost your brain in that hurricane? If there was an island within sight, you'd already know... or what do ya think I'm doing up here?... Looking for dawn? Tss."

Inhaling with a grunt, Zoro pushed himself off the mast and started to walk over to the lamb's head, where Luffy had been sitting some hours ago... before Usopp and Chopper had overpowered their captain and had dragged him (not without a fight) inside,  
having even succeeded in tying him onto the couch in their room... which had resulted in wild trashing and screaming. Luffy only calmed down after Robin had told him that they couldn't hear Sanji calling for an island to have come into sight.

Staring across the railing, the swords-fighter watched some flotsam and jetsam floating past the ship, disappearing out of his sight after some seconds.

"Hep"  
Startled, Zoro straightened sharply, watching in surprise as his captain jumped off the planks beside him and landed with a 'plop' on the lamb's head.  
'Where the hell had he come from?' He asked himself mentally, scratching his head absently as he stared at Luffy's back.

"How'd ya sleep?" Came the muffled question from behind the two friends.  
Looking down from the crow's nest, Sanji watched as Usopp slowly walked down the stairs to the main deck, eyes still puffy from another night without any proper rest.

"Same as ya, I guess." The cook answered, re-assuming his postion and staring at the wide horizon that stretched seemingly endlessly in front of the ship's bow.  
"Chopper's been tossing and turning in his hammock for hours... couldn't close my eyes for a second." Usopp said in a whining tone, inhaling deeply as he massaged the back of his neck. His eyes burned even though the sun hung still very low in the sky, the barely illuminated horizon glowing dark red.

"Where's he, anyway"  
"Inside, helping Robin to prepare breakfast." Usopp answered Zoro's question with a ceased brows as he looked up to where he had heared Sanji kicking hard against the nest's wooden walls.

The blond man breathed heavily as he thought about how Robin had to stand behind the oven and make 'his' food, instead of sitting comfortably in her chair, smiling gratefully up at him as he served her another masterpiece of food.  
But he couldn't leave his place right now. And he wouldn't for as long as they would need to find Nami!

"Sanji, you stay with Chopper, Usopp and Robin on board. Zoro comes with me"  
A deep frown appeared on Sanji's face as he looked down at their captain. Luffy had gotten up from the lamb's head and had jumped down onto the main deck, slowly walking to where Usopp was still standing just as baffled as the other men.

"Huh? Whatcha meaning"  
"Land in sight." He calmly retorted.

'What the fucking...' Sanji thought as his head snapped up, eyes immediately glued to a dark spot in the distance.  
'That idiot is right! I was supposed to find it, dammit!' He cursed silently under his breath, eyes narrowed as he gripped the rim of the nest tightly. He wasn't going to hear the end of it.

"Hey, super-brain!" It was Zoro, who was yelling probably his newest abuse up at Sanji. "Who lost his brain in a hurricane?  
Gonna buy ya some glasses, you blind shit-head"  
"Shut the hell up you alga-brain and get ready!"

----------

"We're gonna land in less than twenty minutes. So get ready, young lady"  
Looking up from the book she had been reading, Nami stared almost absently at Shanks.

"Yeah, right... I'm ready. Just gonna finish this and then come up on board." She answered, her eyes already drifting back to the open page in front of her.

Brows ceasing into a frown, Shanks nodded and turned to go. Throwing one last glance across his shoulder he wondered what the hell was going on with that woman now. First she hadn't shut up about his "inability to lead a pirate ship" after his prediction that they should have reached the island already ten hours ago had been totally wrong and now she didn't seem to care one damn bit that she finally could start her search mission to find her crew.

'Whatever!' He thought, shrugging his shouldes as he disappeared in the corridor, leaving behind the red-head.

A slight grin tugged at the corners of Nami's lips as she listened to the fast retreating steps of Shanks' sandals as he made his way back up on top of the large ship, probably already busy ordering his men around.  
Silently she lifted one hand, counting down from five both with her finger and in her mind.  
'Five... Four... Three... Two... One...'

The grin widened into a full smile as she slowly got up, closing the open book with a smack. The title said 'Ten easy ways to get a woman' and apart from that, Nami hadn't read one word... not even the name of the obviously desperate guy who had written the book.

Carefully, she took the strawhat from the nearby bed and tied it securely around her waist, not intending to lose it while she had to concentrate on every step she was doing from now on.  
'Time is money', Nami thought cheekily as she slowly peeked around the door frame, making sure no-one was outside.

'Aaaalright...' Carefully, the young woman walked down the deserted hallway, purposefully making her way to one of the last doors. When she had reached it, she sowly closed her fingers around the cold metallic handle, praying silently as she pulled it down.

With a creaking sound it opened.  
'And here I thought he would be smart enough to lock it!' Nami smirked as she entered the semi-dark room.

It was still early outside, the dawning sun not yet able to illuminate the inside of the large ship.  
"Makes it easier." She whispered to herself, already striding to a large wooden box in one corner of the room.

Kneeling down in front of it, Nami examined the massive lock dangling down from the lit.  
Inhaling deeply, she reached into her trouser pocket, grabbing the two items hidden within it.

A needle and a bended fork.  
Well, Nami had picked locks with worse.

Once, she remembered with a grin, she had used a large stone, smashing the lock for almost an hour until it finally broke and she had been able to take the treasure inside.

Putting the 'instruments' into the small opening of the lock, she started to work with expertise.  
Nami had learned her job very well over the years and this time the lock was clicking open within mere seconds.

A huge mischievous grin spread out across her face, her eyes shining brightly when she hushed her first good look at what lay inside the treasure box. Just like he first time she had been 'guest' on Shanks' ship, the box, which was much larger than last time, was filled to the rim with gems, gold and jewels of all kind. In the middle of all the blinking, precious stuff was a small bag filled with gold coins.

It seemed to Nami as if the treasure was smiling back at her, beckoning her to take it with her.  
And, well, who was she to decline such a generous offer?

Grabbing the pillow on the bed, she pulled it open and took it out of its case.  
She threw it away carelessly and started filling the case with anything she could take.

Soon the pillowcase was filled with almost a third of the treasure and Nami feared the material would rip apart under the weight of the gems and gold.  
She had nothing else she could use as bag, so she decided to leave it to this.

Getting up, Nami pulled the lid of the box shut and locked it again. She then took the bag and made a tight knot. Nami really didn't want to walk out onto deck and have the case open up suddenly, revealing her thievery to the whole crew.

When she took the bundle, her nose suddenly filled with the faint scent of smoke.  
A small smile played at the corners of her mouth as she remembered her little diverson she had set up some half an hour ago,  
consisting of a candle, some alcohol and two sheets of ripped paper.  
Usopp would be proud of so much imagination!

She just hoped, that she hadn't caused an inferno.  
No, what she had intended with this construction was a small fire that would both divert the crew and make them use the paddles to reach the island faster. Which wold mean that they wouldn't land within half an hour, but probably already in less then fifteen minutes!

Just the time she needed to get the treasure, sneak out of the room and hide somewhere near the bow of the ship where she could easily escape without anybody noticing!  
'Tss, as if anybody'll notice me with a fire threatening their lovely ship!' She thought smugly.

"What the fucking hell"  
Eyes wide in shock and horror, Nami nearly let go of the bag in her hands.

"You! You set that fire, right!" Shanks yelled angrily.  
Turning around, Nami schooled her face into a neutral mask.

"Fire"  
"Don't mess with me... I mean again!" He yelled, eyes glowing in fury as he watched her look back at him with such a smug,  
innocent expression that he almost exploded.  
'How dare she...'

"I'm actually sorry, but, well, is there anything else you want or did you just come here to accuse me?" Nami asked, carefully letting go of the treasure and fumbling for the three pieces of her bo attached to her thigh.  
She calmly put it together, displaying openly just how much she didn't care that Shanks was watching.

Which made Shanks, on the other hand, even more angry.  
"Ya know, 'Nami'," He sneered her name, eyes watching her like an eagle,"I just 'knew' you were gonna be trouble. But unfortunately for you I know your lil tricks this time and well, to be frank, that shit ain't work with me twice!" He told her with an evil look on his face.

Rather unimpressed, Nami started rotating her weapon, making faintly red and blue coloured bubbles come out of the small openings at the ends of the bo. They gathered near the ceiling, forming a small grey cloud that hovered dangerously near Shanks head... who stared a bit confused up at the small miracle.

"What da hell..." He started, but was cut short when Nami threw another small bubble at the cloud, electrical sparks running through it.

Suddenly a thunder-like sound errupted from it and with shock written all across his face, Shanks watched helplessly as a lightning protruded out of the cloud, crashing down on him and giving him literally the shock of his life.

Smoke rose up from his clothes.  
Snickering, Nami watched as Shanks coughed out a small cloud of grey dust, his eyes staring incredulously at his opponent.

Gripping her bo more tightly, Nami got into fighting stance.  
She didn't give him a chance to react and dashed forward, her bo connecting obviously painfully with his stomache.

Shanks sank down onto his knees, arms drawn across his belly when Nami used the moment to give him a good wack across the back of his head. As a result, the red-haired man fell over and landed in a smoking heap on the wooden floor.

Glad she had been able to defeat him, Nami took the bag with the treasure and made her way carefully out into the corridor.  
When she looked back across her shoulder, Nami could see Shanks' unconscious form still lying where she had left him, hoping silently that he would stay that way for the time she would need to get away from this ship and hide somewhere on the island until they would give up on finding her.

----------

"Hmm... didn't Robin tell us to just follow this road?"

Sighing, Zoro fought the urge to beat his captain into a pulp... which would probably not work with Luffy being at least as strong as himself... so he decided to settle on a comment.

"You should have better taken Robin along with ya, Luffy. You are some idiot! Can't even follow a damn road without getting lost"  
"Hahaha! It's not as if I'm the only idiot here, right!"

Smirking, Zoro was glad to finally hear Luffy laughing... not his typical carefree laugh, but it was a start.

"Hey! There's smoke! So there is a house and food! Let's go and finally get that Lockpose, Robin wants so badly"  
With that Luffy started to run in highspeed to where he assumed the town to finally be, Zoro trailing behind after him with much less enthusiasm.

----------

"Dammit!"

Arms slung around the way to heavy bag, her fingers clawing into the material of the pillowcase aka 'the modified treasure-box.  
She was panting hard as she sped through the empty streets of the small coastal town of the island... the island that was supposed to be the launching pad of her search an rescue mission.

Right now, she needed to get rescued herself.

'I should have hit him harder! I should have tied him! I should have taken him hostage! But nooooo, lovely Nami had to play right into their filthy hands!' She scolded herself, thinking back to when the whole ordeal had started in the first place...

-  
"Get her"  
"Huh?" Puzzled, Nami watched as Shanks leaned far across the bow of the ship, his hand pressed against the back of his head... the thief with their treasure... funnily, smoke was still rising up from Shanks' shoulders and hadn't there been some twenty men jumping down the ship and heading straight towards her, Nami would have probably stopped and laughed.

But well, right now she had other things to do.  
Such as running for her life and get away from the gang chasing after her...

-

'Dammit!' She screamed mentally, willing to get her legs to move faster, but she already felt the strain and feared she wouldn't make it...

Looking up from her rapidly moving feet, Nami tried desperately to get somebody to help her. Which happened to be a big huge honkin' problem! It was still quite early in the morning, the sun having barely showed its full size and only few men were busy setting up their tents and putting away articles and goods in the market street.

They had no eyes for the young woman that was being chased by some very angry looking, yelling men... and even if they saw her, there was barely time for them to do anything about it. Nami was running or better fleeing through the streets with such a speed, that they were lucky if they saw a glimpse of her.

"Stop! You damn bitch!"

Another abuse, but well, Nami had heard much worse in her young life and she so didn't care.  
'Whatever... I need somewhere to hide!'

Eyes roamed over the various houses, but every door was closed and to be frank she didn't want anybody to get pulled into the mess she had caused... no innocent would suffer because of her idiotic plan.

"Woahh"  
Startled out of her internal musings, Nami barely had time to catch herself before hitting the dusty ground.  
She had stumbled across an empty beer bottle. Cursing, she bit her lip as her ankle started to hurt from the slight twist.

Her breathing got heavier and her sweaty hands could barely hold onto the silky material of the pillowcase. It kept on slipping out of her grasp every so often and she had to lesson her speed to pull it back up into her arms.

Rounding another corner, the red-haired woman found another part of the still deserted market.  
Only two men stood in front of a tent, one of them crouching on the paved floor to examine something in one of the boxes...

Eyes wide, Nami willed the last energy reserves in her body to activate, forcing her legs to gain more speed as she sprinted straight towards them.

----------

"What the...!"

Luffy couldn't remember having started to run.  
He couldn't remember having done anything wrong that would deserve such foul words coming from the fifteen or so men running after him.

Luffy also couldn't remember when Zoro had gone all touchy...

Somebody had grabbed him by his wrist.  
And this someone had also been the one who had pulled him roughly off the ground and had dragged him along down the street they had just come from.

And Luffy was pretty sure that Zoro had never had such soft and delicate fingers... and well... he guessed Zoro wasn't the type of person who would take ones wrist just to get your attention or run away for that matter.

Zoro and running away? Ha!

"Damn, Zoro! Just take it!" A gruff, breathless voice suddenly exclaimed from beside Luffy.

Gazing to his right, his eyes went wide.  
"N-Nami?" He asked incredulously, dodging a flying watermelon.

"Here..." Was all the woman beside him replied as she let go of his wrist and untied some thin cord from around her waist.  
Within a fraction of a second, she grabbed the item that had been tied around her torso and planted it roughly on Luffy's head.

A hand flew up to grab the rim of said thing and immediately his dark eyes lit up.  
"Thanks." Was all he could say as he pulled his straw hat deeper into his face, hiding his eyes as a large grin spread out across his lips.

"And what's this!" Zoro's baffled and slightly irritated voice caught Luffy's and Nami's attention.  
"A treasure! What else, you dumb-head!" She retorted inbetween breaths.

Grunting, Zoro heaved the heavy bag onto his shoulder, avoiding Nami's fist as she tried to hit his head when he very nearly lost hold of the precious stuff in his arms.

"And you stole it from them!" Zoro gestured to the party of angry men behind them.  
"No, they're my new fan-club! Idiot! Why would somebody chase such a lovely girl without a reason!"

Not answering, Zoro turned away slightly and absently eyed a stone one rug had thrown after them but had missed them quite spectacularly.  
"And why aren't we fighting them?"

"Because, idiot, it's a long story! And, no, we won't beat the crap outta them! Understood"  
It was no question, even Zoro could tell by the dangerous gleam in her eyes and the way her hand clenched into a wrist.

Laughter errupted from beside the two fighting friends and when they turned into the direction of its source, they found Luffy nearly doubling over. He was laughing so hard that Nami swore she had seen a tear running down a cheek... 'Strange', she thought, bt shook the though off when another stone missed her only by inches this time.

"Where did ya land anyway? We can't keep on running around like this for much longer?"

----------

Chopper was bored.  
"I'm bored."

"Me, too." Usopp replied, sweeping a calming hand across his features.  
Looking up from where he was sitting on the railing of the bridge, he watched Sanji standing straight on top of the crow's nest.  
The cook was shielding his eyes against the bright light of the dawning sun, looking out for a sign of their captain and the 'shitty' swords fighter...

"Have I ever told ya about the time when I fought against the creator of all Devil Fruits, 'the' devil!" He started and was very pleased to find Chopper's all-trusting eyes already bulging out in obvious excitement and expectation of a new story.

But before Usopp could even get started, a loud 'thud' caught his attention. When he looked up again he found Sanji getting up from the planks of the main deck, having obviously jumped down the mast.  
He suddenly sprinted towards the lamb's head, leaning so far across the railing that Usopp feared he would fall over.

"NAMIIIIIIIII!"

Startled, the two friends stared wide-eyed at the cook.  
"Wha-...?"

"Fucking hell! She's back!" Sanji yelled at the top of his lungs, tears of utter joy welling up behind his eyes as he waved frenetically to where Nami, Luffy and Zoro headed quite fast to where the ship anchored.

Usopp and Chopper ran to where their friend was standing, watching shocked beyond words as their lost navigator ran towards them... followed by an angry loocking party of bulky men.

"Get the paddles!" Nami suddenly yelled when she was within hearing-range.

That earned some frowns, but when she yelled the order again, Usopp turned around and sprinted down the alley to where they stored the large paddles. He had grabbed both Sanji's and Chopper's arms and had dragged them along, much to the cook's dismay. But they both complied and helped him getting the paddles into place.

"What is it?" A surprised voice asked.  
Grinning wildly, Usopp gave Robin a 'thumbs up', positioning himself beside Chopper at one paddle.  
"Nami is back!" The little reindeer answered for him instead, his lower lip quivering as he tried to hold back tears.

"Alright people!" Spinning around, their eyes found their navigator standing beside or better leaning heavily on the main mast.  
Her breathing was labored as she lifted her arm.  
"Get started already!" With that she gave them the sign to start paddling. Which they did promptly.

The loud splash could be heard as all men plunged their paddles into the sloshing sea, water splashing around the long shafts as the straw hat men started to row.  
Blending out all noises of the yelling mob at the beach and the grunting and heavy breathing of his friends, Sanji listened to the laughter that had errupted from Luffy's throat accompanied by the silent sobs of his precious love.

----------

Epilogue:

"Shanks?"

"Yeah... I'm almost sorry for having robbed that much, but I thought we would need it, so well... Luffy? What is it"  
The young man sat silently beside Nami. He had barely uttered a word ever since Chopper and Usopp had literally dragged Nami inside the ship after they had escaped from the island, having begged and whined so long until their friend had sighed and had started to tell them what had happened.

"You told him about me"  
"Not much... he was kinda strange when it came to ya, so I was careful not to say too much. I didn't know whether he was some sort of arch-enemy or whatever. Wasn't intending to get sent over the planks or something like that." Nami finshed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"That idiot had some stupid obsession with your hat... babbled something about me having robbed it, that he knew the owner..."

"Hahahahaha"  
Frowning, Nami and the rest of the gang watched Luffy curiously as he doubled over in a laughing fit.  
He held his stomache and nearly fell onto the floor.

"Hey! What's so funny?"

----------

FINIS!

Like? Not like?  
sigh Happy I finally got the time finish it... stya tuned for more (fantastic) work of mine OO''


End file.
